As you might have heard by now, the 2005 U.S. Barista Championship
(USBC) was a wildly successful educational and professional event,
culminating with the crowning of a deserving champion in my friend and
colleague Phoung Tran, owner of Lava Java in Ridgefield, Wash. With her
victory—and prior to it—Tran exemplifies professionalism, dedication to
the craft and creativity.
After attending and participating in a few barista competitions around
the country, I arrived at the USBC finally feeling like I knew what to
expect from the competitions. One expects to see honored, humble,
knowledgeable competitors serving judges their full-bodied espressos;
sweet, velvety cappuccinos; and signature drinks with ingredients like
chocolate, citrus, cream, caramel, brown sugar and vanilla.
Signature Style and Skill
As always, there were some surprises at this year’s event. One curve
ball came during Round One. About two-thirds of the first-round
competitors had delivered their stellar performances and many were were
sticking around for the announcement of the semi-finalists. I couldn’t
have been the only person in the room with my jaw on the floor when
John Lewis of Café DOMA in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, started his
performance with the phrase, “They said I could bring my own grinder .
. . . ” This grinder was none other than a hand grinder he had set up
near the judges’s table, with which he began to grind barley into a
small silver dish as he described his forthcoming signature drink. I
should mention that John also set up a water fountain on the judges’s
table. The fountain was made of flat burrs and drew water from a source
he set up on the stage during his prep time. This, to me, was true
performance art, on par with Heather Perry’s (of Coffee Klatch in San
Dimas, Calif. and the 2003 USBC Champion) simultaneous
four-martini-glass pour of 2004. In other words, I was absolutely and
completely in awe. These kinds of feats of performance make the room a
little warmer and get the adrenaline flowing faster.
Another surprise occurred during the semifinals, although the
competitors didn’t find out about it until the evening after the
competition was over. Allow me to explain the gravity of this
achievement by giving and intentionally simplistic interpretation of
how the competition’s scoring works. There are seven total judges in
the competition, six of whom assign scores and one head judge who keeps
the others calibrated and double checks the technical details. A
performance is evaluated for taste, technical soundness and
presentation. There are some point categories in which a competitor is
scored on a “yes-no” basis, where only a score of one point or zero
points is possible. In other point categories a qualitative judgment is
required to assign a value from zero to six points. Obviously, every
competitor is striving for perfection, but we are all aware that
achieving six points in even one category is virtually never done. A
five-and-a-half-point or a five-point score are not much easier to
achieve and are pretty rare. So, in general, the top scores in a given
competition float around the 625- to 725-point range. I consider the
basic benchmarks to be the following: A good score is about 550 points,
a very good score would fall within the 650-700 range, and a 700-plus
score is that intangible pinnacle of excellence over which we
competitors are constantly agonizing and striving to achieve.
The collective eyes of the barista community widened with surprise and
amazement when we learned of Ryan Dennhardt’s (of Barista’s Daily Grind
in Kearney, Neb.) score in the semifinals: 820.50. I hardly need to
mention that among the members of the 800 club, to my knowledge,
Dennhardt is currently flying solo. The resulting effect of this score
is two-fold. The first, and most evident, is that a deserving
competitor receives his due accolades and respect. I can only assume
that those espressos must have been absolutely outstanding! The second
effect falls on the rest of us in the barista community; now that
someone has done it, we are stuck with the realization that it can be
done. While baristas constitute a largely friendly and somewhat folksy
group, we are also fiercely competitive, and I have no doubt in my mind
that the 800-plus score is already on a lot of our minds in terms of
the 2005-2006 season.
Cultural Connections
For me, though, probably the most significant surprise of the 2005 USBC
was largely cultural. After arriving for the competitors’ meeting and
exchanging greetings with colleagues old and new, my emotional state
was one of genuine excitement with equal parts nervousness, ferocious
determination and pure enthusiasm thrown in. Over the past months of
training with my Intelligentsia teammates, Amber Sather, Matt Riddle,
Stephen “The Rog” Rogers and Amanda Ladas, many times I felt so proud
of each of them and humbled to be on a team with them. Looking around
the room that Wednesday in Seattle, I could not help but feel similar
pride and humility to be in the company of other outstanding
professionals and to be a part of a community with such talented
baristas. It’s that that feeling, almost overwhelming in its power,
that keeps baristas closely knit.
But despite the camaraderie, we all knew the reality of the reason we
were there, and that was to compete against each other for something we
each craved. As a competitor, one tries to focus only on delivering his
or her best performance, but in the company of famous and proven
competitors, it can be a bit of a challenge. As a regional winner, I
attempted to use the first few days to relax and enjoy the company of
my colleagues before I had to actually perform, but even then, the
underlying tension was apparent.
Wednesday night, the night before the competition was to begin, my
Intelligentsia teammates and I discussed the pros and cons of the
stresses of competing. On one hand, nervous energy is a sign that one
is participating in something important. On the other hand, we thought,
“If it’s this stressful on Wednesday, what are Saturday and Sunday
going to be like?” The answer to this question was perhaps the most
significant surprise of all, and a sign of great things for the future
of the barista community.
After performing on Saturday during the semifinals (I was seventh to
compete), I began to see a very real transformation taking place. As
the competition progressed and we all witnessed one strong performance
after another, the tension began to give way to an environment more of
respect and solidarity. Everyone had been doing the math: six spots in
the finals, and many more than six potential top competitors. Not
everyone could make the finals, and believe me, there were more than
six knowledgeable, professional, entertaining baristas who could
represent their cafés and the community well. Perhaps it was in coming
to the realization that no matter who the final six were, the barista
community would be proud of their achievements and looking for a great
competition in the finals. The moment I learned I was one of the lucky
six, I felt so proud and honored to have the chance to represent this
wonderful barista community.
End Results
On Sunday, as the six finalists began to arrive to compete, it seemed
that on this day there was far more respect in the room than tension.
There is no doubt in my mind that this carried through into each of our
performances. It was a relief to me that there were no disasters in the
finals, that each competitor delivered a strong performance and the
winners would be determined by their skills and the results in the cup.
This, coupled with the fact that so many of the semifinalists and
first-round competitors came to cheer on and support the finalists,
created an experience that was successful in a way that I could not
have imagined.
Contrary to what I had observed and feared on Wednesday, Sunday turned
out to be the day with the least amount of tension and stress and the
most fun and camaraderie. This is a bellwether of exciting things to
come for the barista community. If the 2005 USBC is any indication,
next year will be filled with new thrills as the envelope is pushed in
terms of achievement in ingenuity, scoring, and professionalism.
Ellie Hudson-Matuszak is director of training and knowledge at Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters and Tea Traders, and the 2005 USBC second-place winner. Comments on this article may be sent to
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